Dysfunctional relationships can cause a looot of damage and waste a lot of time, money, and mental capacity. It is, indeed, best to avoid them until you truly know what is right for you.

Don't be afraid. A lot of my apathy was a coping mechanism to fear of failure. December 2012 through January 2013, I just sat in my room playing Minecraft and doing nothing. I was severely depressed after losing my job and having just seen my ex-girlfriend for the last time (after being on and off for two years) on Christmas eve AND THEN getting a ticket on Christmas day with no way to pay for it. My instinctive response was to not do anything anymore. I was an escapist.

Then one day my friends wanted to go on a road trip across the state to Lake Michigan during the middle of winter. The photographer (and escapist) in me thought it sounded like a dream! When we got there, it was surreal. Sand dunes covered in snow, (this picture does NOT do it justice, but look at the swirling of the snow and the sand: http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8094/8454433543_26ddc99184_b.jpg) creating an ethereal landscape that no one really thinks about. The harsh battering of the waves, the heavy biting winds that can only come from a mass of water the size of Lake Michigan, the thumping of the waves onto the shore... suddenly I felt much, much, much more alive and connected to reality than I did sitting in front of a monitor playing Minecraft in my boxers. Turns out, the months of depression and apathy were the dream, and I had forgotten reality. It woke me up, and I thought, "I need a job so I can do this again."

Next day we were home and I went application hunting. I picked up a few applications, but the only one that I really felt interested in was 7-Eleven. When I went to turn it it, something told me (as a recently born -again Christian as of 2012, I believe God) not to turn it into the store I got it from, but to turn it into the one down the street. It was the only application I turned in. The boss hired me the next day.

It may not be my dream job, but it's the second job I've ever had, and it has taught me a lot of the responsibility and discipline I needed to keep my cool and to push myself to work, even when others weren't around me. For that, I'm grateful. I guess what I'm trying to say is, if your apathetic because you're wondering what's the point in trying when nothing seems to work out, things WILL work out for good if you're honestly trying to move forward in the right direction.

It's a mix. For starters, I could be fined some money, which I definitely can't afford. But then my boss could be fined some money, and I like him. And if I got caught doing something illegal in his place of work, not only would I be hurting his trust and his business, but there'd be unneeded tension between us as a result. I'd be more likely to lose my job the next time I floundered. If I screw up, and somebody else screws up too within the same month, there's a possibility that we lose our license. My boss almost lost his liquor license a couple years before I started my job because some ditzy girl wasn't doing her job and twice in the same month sold to someone working undercover for the 7-Eleven corporation / local police department (can't remember which.) That's just stupid. Why should my boss have to be put under a ton of stress, and why should they both have to pay fines later on, just because she didn't really care to begin with? She certainly cared afterward. This business is my boss's life. He's a single father working 50-70 hours a week, night shifts and day shifts if necessary, to put his two children through college.

I don't care if some kid is going to smoke. I can't stop him. He's already made the decision to start, and I can't stop him, but what I'm not going to do is cause myself or my boss any trouble.

It's cool that you can understand where I'm coming from. I'm really sorry about your mother, that must have been hundreds of times worse than just dating one. I'm not really attracted to the BPD personality, in fact I couldn't stand her personality and saw right through her, but by the time that came into play and I realized what was going on, I was deeply attached in an overly sexual relationship + she was the first girl I'd ever dated.

It's apples and oranges. I'm equally annoyed by people who come in, walk over my mopped floor, take forever to decide what they want, making me waste my time because I have to watch them (seeing as people steal quite often, more than I would have ever believed.) It's easier to just have someone come up and buy lottery. SURE, if we didn't have lottery machines, it'd be less people to wait on, but since we do and I can't change that fact, I look at them the same as other customers. Besides, I'm not the one who isn't making a profit off them; that's my boss.

Biggest single lottery was $200. But some other dude just kept winning and winning and ended up with like $400.

We don't actually sell pizza! My favorite hot food is either the jalapeno & creme cheese taquito, or the Baffo steak sandwich after you microwave it.

We're not allowed to purchase lottery from our own store. We've had members in the past who just waste the money they earn while working DURING WORK, just playing scratch tickets. So it's not allowed anymore. I played a few times out of work. I won a $20 on a $1 ticket once. Other than that, I usually win my money back on my first scratch ticket, and then I buy another one because I'm not satisfied, lose, and give up. Haha.

That sucks. I'm using this year or two of college to really test myself. Fortunately, the education is largely paid for by grants (it's a community college, but their photography program rivals a local art school and the professors are teaching their passion, not 'going to work'.) I really hope to hold a high GPA, and while doing this, figure out what I really want to do afterward.

My mom has always pressured me into going to college, and I feel like this is a way to satisfy that without going just to suit her hopes and wishes. My mother always nagged me about going to college, but throughout my life I wish my parents had just disciplined me. I was not disciplined growing up.

A.) I know that I could teach myself everything I want to do in regards to my field, but I can't bring myself to do it. I need structure in my life. B.) The college that I found is willing to give me an education for free, and also happens to be well known for the field that I want to go into.